Curtain rod bracket



M 8, 1951 w. c. KENNEY 2,552,180

CURTAIN ROD BRACKET Filed Jan. 26, 1948 Patented May 8, 1951 UNITEDSTATES TENT OFFICE CURTAIN ROD BRACKET Application January 26, 1948,Serial No. 4,247

' 1 Claim. 1

through to be inserted over the free end of the hook and forceddownwardly past one or more yieldable detents or looking tongues, alsostruck from the base of the brackets and lying between the same and thehook, and which detent or detents frictionally engage the rounded headand prevent the rod from turning angularly on the hook or from becomingaccidentally disengaged therefrom.

In brackets of this type as heretofore made, one end of the lockingtongue or tongues are integral with the base of the bracket and theother end is free so as to provide a spring eifect which as the head ofthe rod is forced downwardly onto the hook permits the tongue or tonguesto yield so that the rod head may pass the same and then returns thetongue or tongues to former position so as to lock the rod on the hookuntil such time as the rod is intentionally withdrawn from the hookwhereupon the locking tongue or tongues again yield to permit the rod tobe forced therepast.

According to my present invention, I construct my bracket with a pair oflocking tongues or detents disposed at opposite sides of the hook andclosely adjacent the free end thereof. Each locking tongue is formed asa double cam surface, the ends of which are integral with the base sothat the locking tongues will be more rigid and less susceptible ofbecoming bent or distorted. This construction, moreover enables theresiliency of the hook to be utilized for pro viding the yieldin actionas the rod head is applied and removed from the hook, thereby avoidingrepeatedly flexing the thinner and weaker tongues or detents, as wasnecessary in the prior art brackets.

Another advantage of my bracket over former brackets is that the pair ofdouble cam locking tongues or detents are inset laterally a slightdistance so that the spacing between them is less than the width of thehook. This prevents nesting or interlocking of the brackets with oneanother during the finishing operations, such as tumbling, barrelplating or mechanical plating, to which the brackets are subjected afterthey have been stamped and formed with the hooks and the pairs oftongues.

Another advantage is that any sharp corners 2. or feather edges on thedetents which might catch on the rod head as it is moved therepast areeliminated, the head contacting surfaces of the detents being formed ona radius conforming generally to that of the rod head so as to offerminimum friction to the rod head as it is slid up and down on the hookpast the detents.

Other advantages of my invention will appear as this descriptionproceeds.

In the accompanying drawing wherein I have shown a preferred embodimentof my invention:

Figure 1 is an end view of my bracket as seen when turned over uponitself from the position shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a face view thereof.

Figure 3 is an edge view, and showing in full lines a rod mountedthereon and in dotted lines the flexing action of the hook as the rod ismoved past the locking tongues or detents, and

Figure 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

I have indicated at It the bracket base, apertured as at H to permit itto be screwed to the window casing. Extending outwardly and upwardlyfrom the base to lie in spaced, generally parallel relation thereto isan integral hook or prong l2. Also extending outwardly from the base tolie adjacent to the free end of the hook and on either side thereof andin spaced relation thereto is a pair of spring detents or lookingtongues l3. Each detent or locking tongue is formed as a double camsurface It and I5, the ends of which are integral with the base asindicated at It and I? and the apex of which is disposed a substantialdistance above the base.

Preferably the detents are pressed inwardly slightly towards each otheras shown in Figure 2 so as to lie close enough to the hook to preventhooks or other brackets from nesting or looking therewith during thetumbling or plating or other finishing operations to which the bracketsare subjected after they have been stamped and formed. As appears inFigure 4 the surfaces of the detents or looking tongues which engagewith the ball or head I8 of the rod l9 are preferably curved on a radiussubstantially conforming to the curvature of said ball or head so as topermit the ball or head to slide freely past the detents or lookingtongues as it is applied to or removed from the hook. The ball or headhas a vertical hole 20 therethrough whereby it may be inserted over andwithdrawn from the hook, and as shown in Fig. 3, it will be noted thatas the rod head is forced up or down over the hook, the hook flexesslightly, as shown in dotted lines, to permit said head to ride up ordown the cam surfaces of the detents or looking tongues as the case maybe. After the rod head passes the apexes of the detents in its downwardtravel, the hook returns to position and the rod head is locked beneaththe cam surfaces l5 against accidental withdrawal. In removing the rodthe reverse of this action takes place.

By attaching both ends of the detents or tongues to the base, the dangerof these tongues becoming bent or distorted in the use of the bracket islargely obviated and since the resiliency of the tongues is not reliedupon to permit the rod head to be applied to or removed from the hook,the structure may be much more rigid than in the conventional type ofbracket where the detent is attached at one end only to the bracket baseand is free at its other end in order to provide the spring effect.

While I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of my invention, mybracket may be modified in various details Without departing from thespirit of my invention as defined by the appended claim.

I claim:

An improved curtain rod bracket comprising a 7 sheet metal plateperforated to form an elongated slot therein with the portion thatformer- 1 occupied the area of the said slot bent to form a rodsupporting hook substantially parallel to the said plate and integralwith the said plate at one end of the said slot, the said plate havingindented portions on each side of the slot extending only partwaytherealong, said indented portions being bent outwardly to form a pairof locking detents in opposed relation to the said hook and with eachend of each detent integral with the said plate.

WILLIAM C. KENNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 794,070 Assel July 4, 1905

